


Research Trip

by angelbabe_cj



Series: Holiday Prompt Ficlets 2015 [6]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-19
Updated: 2016-02-19
Packaged: 2018-05-21 22:48:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,315
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6060979
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angelbabe_cj/pseuds/angelbabe_cj
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Their outing to Ostia ends in a thunderstorm</p>
<p>Holiday Prompts 2015: We’re in the middle of a thunderstorm and you wanna stop and feel the rain? (Luna/my choice) from Gelsey</p>
            </blockquote>





	Research Trip

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Gelsey](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gelsey/gifts).



> Firstly this was the most Luna-perfect prompt ever.
> 
> Secondly I have very much abused my love of visiting Ostia Antica during a Uni study trip here, although my memories are a bit fuzzy.
> 
> Finally thank you SO much to [Gelsey](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Gelsey/pseuds/Gelsey) for betaing her own prompt.

“No, but the fact that it’s still there after all this time, even in the Muggle buildings, I mean not as many, but this isn’t like Pompeii, it just sort of crumbled. Pompeii the volcano covered everything, and it was mostly there to be uncovered, here it got abandoned,” Dean said, swinging Luna’s hand as they walked along the deeply rutted street of ancient Ostia. 

They were in Italy on a combination of holiday and work trip. It was work for both of them. Luna was researching sightings of some potentially magical animals, which had been seen in and around several ancient Roman sites, particularly in magical areas. In one or two of them there was actually still modern Wizarding activity, which was well hidden from Muggle eyes, which made it easier, but in others they needed to try and blend in with the Muggle tourists. Dean was helping there.

On the other hand, Dean was continuing a series of paintings which contrasted the Muggle and magical worlds, and the entrances from one to the other. He’d already done some work in the UK and France, and since Italy was on his list of options, he had jumped at the chance when Luna mentioned the possibility of coming here.

They were heading back for Rome now, or at least leaving Ostia. There was a bit of a metro journey before they got back to the city proper and could wander back to their hotel. It was heading for evening. Maybe they should stop for food on the way. He glanced down at their feet. Perhaps not, unless they wanted to get fast food of some sort. They were both dusty, and in Luna’s case a little mud splattered from where she’d slipped off a wall she was examining for signs of the elusive creatures and into a muddy puddle created by the rains of the previous day. She’d managed to wipe off the worst of her shoes on the grass, but there were definite splatters up her legs. Dean had tried to help, but since they were too near Muggles for magic most of his help had resulted in Luna laughing at him and telling him to stop tickling her. It had been too damn cute for him to actually comply very quickly.

It had been quite a bright day, although Dean had scanned a local newspaper that suggested they were in for some rain later (weather interpretation pictures were thankfully universal), but it hadn’t looked like it was materialising. Which was what he thought until they were halfway to the metro stop. Suddenly a wave of dark clouds rolled in, dimming the sky and making an incredible backdrop for a painting. He wasn’t going to actually stop and paint or sketch, but he did pull his camera from his bag and took a few photos of trees, buildings, and even Luna, backed by the dramatic sky.

\----

They made it to the train before any rain actually started and found the return train to Rome was fairly empty. The carriage they were in was particularly quiet, and Luna was humming faintly to herself something he knew was by an all-witch band she liked but nobody else would pay attention to. Well, other than the fact she was doing so while standing in the middle of the carriage alternating which leg she stood on. But since there was only one other person in the carriage and he both stank of cigars and body odour and was buried in a newspaper, it wasn’t like anyone was about to care about Luna’s eccentricities. Dean, on the other hand, was mostly fond of her eccentricities and didn’t mind at all.

He looked out of the window, which was lashed with the beginnings of rain and groaned. 

“We’re heading towards it,” he said, causing Luna to wobble, put both feet on the ground and look at him.

“The Song of Miraden?” she asked, confused. Well, that was clearly what she’d been humming, although Merlin alone knew if it meant something else as well. Sometimes Dean found it easier not to ask.

“No, the rain. Or, by the looks of it, storm would be a better word,” he said, gesturing towards the window.

Luna took the half step over to kneel on the seat beside him and looked intently out of the window for several long seconds, then swivelled herself around and plopped down into the seat. She hoisted one foot up, stuck her heel on the seat, or rather the end of her skirt. She also immediately tilted her head onto Dean’s shoulder, and he smiled, wrapping his near hand hers, playing idly with her fingers.

“Okay?” he asked. Her only response was a happy little hum, which was just fine by him.

Several minutes later they pulled into the interchange with the Metro and, missing most of the rain as they walked through the covered station and the short open area to the metro and disappeared underground. 

It was a different story once they got back to bustling Termini station though for their walk to the small hotel they’d found near the centre of Rome. As they exited the station, they were hit by the shock of a downpour of rain from an early summer storm, complete with the rumble of thunder in the air. Dean swore quietly and took off at a swift walk that he was sure Luna would still be able to keep up with. After a few seconds, he lost the sound of her footsteps catching him up and turned around. 

There was his beautiful, ridiculous, girlfriend in her pale floral summer almost-Muggle clothes and bright purple and pink jewellery standing only a few metres from the entrance to the main train and metro hub in Rome with her hands up and face staring at the sky right in the middle of a thunderstorm. 

“Luna?” he called, hurriedly retracing his steps. “You okay?” 

The water was rapidly weighing both of them down. In fact it was running off his shorts, down his legs and into his boots. Thank Circe for magical means of drying clothing and shoes out, because this was going to get pretty disgusting pretty quickly. Luna, on the other hand had a floaty dress-like robe on which was looking increasingly bedraggled by the second. Her dirty-blonde hair was already mostly pale brownish colour it turned when it got wet. And yet, despite all of this, she had a grin on her face, the like of which she usually displayed when discovering something particularly fascinating.

“Luna, you’re getting drenched,” he said, reaching down and brushing some stray hair that was plastered almost across her eyes.

“But it’s so beautiful,” she said, snatching her gaze from the skies for a second to look at him. “It feels amazing.”

“We’re in the middle of a thunderstorm, and you wanna stop and feel the rain?” he asked incredulously. “I love you, but you could basically turn the shower to cool and stand in it with your clothes on for the same effect!”

“But it feels so different than when we have storms in Britain,” she said.

“We’re in Italy in the summer, of course it feels different,” he said, stepping up beside her and wrapping an arm around her waist. “C’mon, you can appreciate the rain on the way back to the hotel,” he said, pressing a kiss to her temple. They were both already soaked, a little extra time wouldn’t get them all that much wetter. He would put up with far more for her, just like she did for him.

“We can have a shower when we get back if you want to feel the difference,” Luna said serenely two streets later. “Only I think maybe one without clothes on would be more fun.” Dean grinned and started to speed up a tiny bit.


End file.
